Deciding I don’t have to eat everything I buy

A younger person I know and love decided that during the month of February, in the name of minimalism, she would give away, or otherwise get rid of as many items in her home as coincides with the days in the month. She last reported that the first nine days were doable, but the double-digit ones were beginning to be a problem.

Which brings me to my tale. It was exactly mid-February or would be in any other month. I decided to do something that was heretofore against my thrifty upbringing: dispose of foodstuffs that 1) I didn’t like, or 2) Christmas leftovers, or 3) things in the freezer that I’d never eat because I bought them for another event and they weren’t eaten, or, in the case of Schwan’s chicken breast pieces, were too old.

1) What I didn’t like were the rest of packaged onion rings used on top of green bean casseroles. Why did I buy them? (Shrug.) How did I use them? Eating them out of the package. Yuck! Grease coated my mouth. Don’t do that again. Out they went in a large bowl I’d set out for the purpose. Next was a package of something-filled-nugget snacks that looked different from what I usually buy. Nope. They joined the onions. Later on, I watered down bottles of half veggie juice and half a too-sharp Bloody Mary mix so I could finish it without tossing. Won’t buy that again. Virgin, but still….

2) Christmas leftovers. Fudge from two sources: a gift from a friend, and a batch brought for the church luncheon and left behind. I’d eaten and eaten more bites than I should have. I even took some to the preacher’s kid who commented on how good it was and that it was his favorite.

The other Christmas confection I ended up throwing out doesn’t have a name, but after altering and adding to it twice, it became so hard that all I could use it for was sweetener (after it melted) for my coffee. Enough, said I. Out it went.

3) In the freezer was most of a package of gluten-free crackers that tasted like pasteboard. I tried to add them to my row of snacks on the back of the countertop and ate a few. But out they went, too. Since I “divorced” Schwan’s, the chicken bites were nearly gone, but out they went. Too old. Dangerous?

That didn’t hurt at all, I decided. Now, should I check all the dressings, sauces, mustards, pickles and olives for expiration dates and do likewise? I know there’s a can of evaporated milk in the cupboard that’s expired.

What else can I give or throw away? Lent is here; perhaps I’ll fill sacks for Goodwill or SCJOHN. It won’t be blue glass, Fostoria or Cape Cod pieces. Perhaps place mats, tablecloths and napkins. Someone could surely use those items.

Happy waning winter days to you.

c 2019, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA